The present invention generally relates to a vehicle safety device and, more particularly, to a knee protector installed in an automobile in front of a seat for protecting the knees of a seat occupant in the event of an automobile collision.
Hitherto, numerous types of knee protectors have been devised, some of which are currently employed in practice. These are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,988, patented Jan. 13, 1976 to Oehm et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,139, patented Sept. 7, 1976 to Hoffmann et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,175, patented June 28, 1977 to Aibe et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,365, patented Dec. 6, 1977 to Nagano et al.; and Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 59-23454, published Feb. 14, 1984.
In all of these listed prior art references, the knee protector generally comprises a relatively rigid transverse support member extending widthwise of the automobile compartment underneath the instrument panel, and an energy-absorbing cushioning pad lined to the transverse support member so as to confront with the knees of a seat occupant.
Except for the last-mentioned reference, all of the patents have failed to take the presence of a glove compartment, or a glove box, into consideration in devising the subject knee protector. Obviously, where the glove box is defined in the instrument panel at a location laterally of and next to the gauge area where numerous gauges and meters are clustered, and the knee protector is designed for installation under the instrument panel, the presence of the glove box need not be considered in devising the knee protector.
The last-mentioned reference, i.e., Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 59-23454, discloses the knee protector installed underneath the instrument panel and having a glove box defined therein on one side remote from the steering column. The knee protector disclosed therein comprises an elongated, double-layered transverse member comprised of outer and inner panels joined together so as to have a generally closed-sectioned hollow therebetween and a cushioning pad lined to one surface of the outer panel facing the passenger's compartment. The transverse member is perforated in one of the halves of the knee protector remote from the steering column for accommodating a glove box for pivotal movement between closed and opened positions, the axis of pivot of the glove box lying in a direction widthwise of the automobile.
The glove box disclosed in publication No. 59-23454 comprises a double-layered lid comprised of inner and outer lid panels joined together to have a closed-sectioned hollow defined therebetween, a cushioning pad lined to one surface of the outer lid panel facing the passenger's compartment, and a generally U-sectioned, open-topped container secured to the inner lid panel. While the container, when the lid is pivoted to the opened position accompanied by the corresponding angular movement of the container, opens diagonally upwardly for the access to the seat occupant, the container is concealed behind the lid when the latter is in the closed position.
The lid for the glove box disclosed in publication No. 59-23454 may be considered a double of the knee protector, albeit the difference in dimension, and, therefore, the lid itself could serve as a knee protector for the seat occupant next to the driver. The lid as the knee protector is so designed that, in the event that the knees impinge upon the lid applying a relatively great impact force to the lid, the outer lid panel is deformed or buckled inwardly of the hollow in the lid while absorbing the applied impact energy. However, should the impact force transmitted from the knees to the lid be greater in the event of an automobile collision, there is a possibility that the hollow in the lid would no longer accommodate the buckling of the outer lid panel, permitting the inner lid panel to be buckled in contact with the outer lid panel being buckled. Once the outer lid panel is severely buckled inwardly accompanied by the corresponding buckling of the inner lid panel in a direction forwardly with respect to the position of the seat occupant, the container could be pushed further in a direction away from the lid, giving damage to an automobile air-conditioner unit where the latter is installed behind the glove box. This may in turn result in the transmission of a counteracting impact force back to the knees of the seat occupant who would suffer from serious injury which ought to have been slight or negligible.